EoW November 2012

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Feature
Steel wire, rod & rope production
November 2012 46
Complete service
GER SA Belgium has specialised in the sale of new and second-hand
machinery for the wire and cable, ferrous and non-ferrous industry since
1980. For sale are single machines and complete plants for steel rod and
wire, non-ferrous wire, steel ropes, electrical insulated cables, etc.
A large stock of machinery immediately available guarantees quick help
and in case the customer doesn’t find the equipment he is looking for in
the listing, GER will search for the machine needed. Amongst them there
are rod breakdown machines, fine and intermediate single or multi-wire
drawing machines, bunchers, cage and tubular stranders, laying-up
machines, armouring machines, drum twisters, extrusion equipment,
spoolers, coilers and take-ups.
Worldwide exports and selling the machinery in the as-is condition or,
upon request, reconditioned and modernised make, GER a strong partner
for the industry. The sales department can also send an estimate for
complete, ready-to-use production units.
GER also offers brand new electrical control systems, using state-of-the-art drives and components. Test-runs of the machines before
shipment as well as installation and commissioning of the machines at the customer’s plant and at the same time training for the
operators complete the service for the customer.
GER SA – Belgium Website:
Corrosion of steel reinforcement is the main cause of premature
failure of concrete structures in the world today. Stainless steel
rebar is an insurance against corrosion and spalled concrete. To
ensure long life spans, stainless rebar has been used successfully
in highly demanding structures, including bridges and other
road infrastructure, which show no signs of deterioration after
decades of service.
Using stainless steel reinforcement (or SSR for short), the
long-term cost is often lower than for normally used carbon steel
as a result of reduced maintenance costs. Outokumpu provides
stainless SSR in several grades. The latest addition in the family is
the lean duplex designation, LDX2101®.
A good example of sustainable solutions enabled by stainless
steel rebar is the Gateway Upgrade Project, the largest road and
bridge project in Queensland’s history in Australia which was
completed in 2011. To ensure a long lifespan, the bridge design
specifies duplex LDX2101® stainless steel reinforcement bar in
the most critical bridge structures – the splash zones of the two
main river pylons. By using stainless steel for about two per cent
or 130 tonnes of the steel reinforcement in the bridge, it was
possible to increase the planned lifetime of the whole structure.
The new bridge now has a design life of 300
years. At the same time overall life cycle costs
were considerably lower, and it was possible
to create a lighter structure.
Another example of using lean duplex
rebar can be found in a Buddhist temple in
Chounbri province in Thailand.
The very ambitious goal of the project is to
have the temple to serve for more than 1,000
years. To ensure this, stainless steel rebar is
used in the most critical concrete structures,
particularly in the groundwork and in the
pagoda.
As in these cases, stainless steel is specified
selectively for parts where it makes a
positive contribution. In this way, structures
can be built either with no extra cost or
for a lower cost than by using carbon
steel reinforcement. LDX 2101® offers
a cost-effective alternative for durable
reinforced concrete structures. Due to its
good price stability, LDX 2101® offers construction projects
vitally important predictability in costs.
The win-win outcome from the use of LDX 2101® rebar is much
improved sustainability in our constructed environment.
Outokumpu – Finland
Website:
▲ New and second-hand machinery from GER
▲ Stainless steel rebar used in a temple construction in Thailand
Stainless steel rebar for 1,000 years